Middle East Conflict Sparks Exodus of Foreign Oil Personnel

Several foreign experts working with oil companies in Iraq have recently left the country amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict, Shafaq News reported on Thursday, citing a senior source in the industry.

“Certain nationalities, especially British experts, have also exited Iraq,” the source told Shafaq News, “yet continue to receive full salaries despite their absence from the field.”

Some foreign technical experts, especially those who had entered Iraq with visas issued in Kuwait, are now unable to return after leaving, the source added, citing “complex border procedures or disrupted coordination between the two countries.”

As a result, many of these experts remain in their home countries but continue to work remotely, according to Shafaq News’ source.

The Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities and uranium enrichment sites on Friday put the industry in the region and global markets on edge amid fears that an escalation of hostilities could disrupt oil supply from the Middle East.

Supply from the Middle East could become vulnerable if Iran and Israel decide to attack vital energy infrastructure in the region, analysts at RBC Capital Markets noted earlier this week, warning that energy, and oil in particular, are now “clearly in the crosshairs.”

“The fact that both sides targeted energy infrastructure on the second day of fighting represents a clear cause for concern,” the analysts wrote in the note.

Iran’s Kharg Island—a major crude terminal and trade hub handling 90% of Iranian crude oil exports, could be targeted by Israel at some point, RBC says. Iranian proxies, for their part, could target oil facilities in neighboring Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia, according to the bank.

Geopolitics could move Brent crude higher by around $10 per barrel, Goldman Sachs has estimated, from a starting point in the mid-$70s. However, the bank admitted oil prices could top $90 a barrel in case of Iranian supply disruption.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com